It's been my observation that it isn't the schools that are failing it's the community. You can see this throughout America. It is a pretty good bet that if a particular school is shaky so is the local community.
The masssive and generic public school that my son goes to would and does rival any school (public or private) in the quality of education given. Why? Because the community cares, the teachers realize and appreciate this and students know what is expected of them.
Naturally I'm delighted that your neighborhood is apparently not in need of a charter school, but many communities are and as long as the stranglehold of the teachers' unions prevent and impede competition, the communities that need them will never get them. The teachers' unions are much like any other in that they exist to protect their membership....in this case, any deviation from the status quo is viewed as a threat and will be crushed whenever possible.
For decades, the test scores of children in the traditional government schools have been failing, both when compared against historical record and also when compared against similar data in other countries. The only solution that the teachers' unions have allowed until recently is in pleading for more money. In several test cities, the scores have actually gone down after huge influxes of money for additional teachers and revamped infrastructure. East St. Louis is a perfect example.
Charter schools and other solutions provide an option for parents to make use of if they wish to break out of what they perceive as a failing system, which in many communities it is. With time, the teachers' unions may decide that healthy competition brings out the best in schools, just as it does in students.
It's been my observation that it isn't the schools that are failing it's the community. You can see this throughout America. It is a pretty good bet that if a particular school is shaky so is the local community.
The masssive and generic public school that my son goes to would and does rival any school (public or private) in the quality of education given. Why? Because the community cares, the teachers realize and appreciate this and students know what is expected of them.
Amen to this. And it doesn't take any tax dollars or government regulations to help out either, just a little time.